1998.08.12: August 12, 1998: Headlines: COS - Bolivia: COS - South Africa: USAID: Chief of Staff: USAID: Peace Corps Chief of Staff Bolivia RPCV Stacy Rhodes served as Director for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in South Africa

Peace Corps Chief of Staff Bolivia RPCV Stacy Rhodes served as Director for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in South Africa

Rhodes earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy from Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1966, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received a master's degree in international relations from John Hopkins university in 1968, a J.D. degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1974, and a master's degree in public policy from Duke University in 1991. Rhodes was director of USAID's Office of Central American Affairs in July 1991 and was responsible for headquarters support for seven USAID programs--Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and a regional program. In December 1992, Rhodes became deputy assistant administrator of USAID's Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1993, Rhodes served as acting assistant administrator. Rhodes has served with USAID in Haiti, Morocco, Nepal, and Guatemala where he was Mission Director. Stacy Rhodes serves as Peace Corps Chief of Staff for Director Aaron Williams.

Caption: Stacy Rhodes sits next to two children at an Amy Biehl Project

The new Director for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in South Africa, William Stacy Rhodes, arrived in the country this past weekend. A native of Tucson, Arizona, Mr. Rhodes, was sworn in on July 29, 1998. A senior Foreign Service Officer, who began his overseas experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bolivia in 1968, he will manage a program with an average annual funding of $50 million.

In April 1994, South Africa entered a new stage of nonracial democracy with the election of President Nelson Mandela. To support that change and help redress the legacy of apartheid, President Clinton announced a three-year assistance package of nearly $600 million, an announcement superseded in 1996 by the current ten-year, $435 million program.

USAID's program in South Africa supports efforts to strengthen democratic institutions and values, to improve services to the majority population in education, health, and housing, to implement economic reform, and to encourage participation in the private sector and ownership of businesses, houses, and other assets by the majority population.

Rhodes was director of USAID's Office of Central American Affairs in July 1991 and was responsible for headquarters support for seven USAID programs--Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and a regional program. In December 1992, Rhodes became deputy assistant administrator of USAID's Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1993, Rhodes served as acting assistant administrator. Rhodes has served with USAID in Haiti, Morocco, Nepal, and Guatemala where he was Mission Director.

Before joining USAID in 1978, Rhodes was an attorney-advisor with the State Department and an associate lawyer in the law firm of Fried, Harris, Shriver and Kampelman in Washington, D.C.

He earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy from Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1966, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received a master's degree in international relations from John Hopkins university in 1968, a J.D. degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1974, and a master's degree in public policy from Duke University in 1991.

Rhodes, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Herbert Rhodes of Tucson, sang in the Tucson Boys Choir, is a 1962 graduate of Rincon High School in Tucson and attended the University of Arizona where his father was Dean of the Graduate College. Rhodes and his wife, Trisha, have three children, Amanda 18, Maggie 16, and Max, 9. He took the oath of office in Washington, D.C., attended by USAID Administrator J. Brian Atwood, colleagues, family and friends.

For more information about USAID programs in South Africa, please contact Reverie Zurba at 012-323-8869.

Memo to Incoming Director WilliamsPCOL has asked five prominent RPCVs and Staff to write a memo on the most important issues facing the Peace Corps today. Issues raised include the independence of the Peace Corps, political appointments at the agency, revitalizing the five-year rule, lowering the ET rate, empowering volunteers, removing financial barriers to service, increasing the agency's budget, reducing costs, and making the Peace Corps bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Latest: Greetings from Director Williams

Director Ron Tschetter: The PCOL InterviewPeace Corps Director Ron Tschetter sat down for an in-depth interview to discuss the evacuation from Bolivia, political appointees at Peace Corps headquarters, the five year rule, the Peace Corps Foundation, the internet and the Peace Corps, how the transition is going, and what the prospects are for doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Read the interview and you are sure to learn something new about the Peace Corps. PCOL previously did an interview with Director Gaddi Vasquez.

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Story Source: USAID

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Bolivia; COS - South Africa; USAID; Chief of Staff

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